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Otega Oweh played in marquee Big 12 matchups during his time at Oklahoma before transferring to Kentucky but he knows tonight’s game against Duke in Atlanta is unique.
“I watched the games they’ve played before,” Oweh said about Duke. “We’re playing them, so we have their scout. They’re pretty tall, there’s no one under 6-5 in their starting lineup. They’re tall, but it’s college basketball.”
He said it was a “big event” playing Duke and the kind of game he likes.
“I just want to play at the highest level, some of these rivalry games. Those are the things I was looking forward to. The fact that it’s in Atlanta, it’s a different scene. I’m really excited,” he said Monday.
Oweh is off to an impressive start for UK. He’s averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game along with 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 1.0 assists per game. He’s shooting 60 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3.
Oweh knows this will not be UK’s only marquee matchup this season — Gonzaga could be even bigger next month.
“I feel like a lot of the games coming up this season will have the same feeling,” he said. “A lot of the games coming up, even in conference play. It’s just great matchups, matchups I didn’t really think I’d ever be a part of. That’s definitely going to be fun, for sure.”
Oweh knows UK has to treat this game tonight as no big deal even if it is a huge game for UK fans.
“We’re treating it like any other game, but when you get to travel and play in a different arena than yours, it’s always pretty exciting. It’s exciting to see where we’re at and see the work that we’ve put in during the offseason pay off,” Oweh said.
“Coach has been preaching — even before this game — the game we’re about to play is the most important game of our lives. We’re in the moment, be where your feet are. You just don’t want to look ahead and prepare the same for every game so you don’t get too high or too low. We know this is a big game, but we’re just looking at it as another game we have to go out there and win.”
5 Responses
Very happy to finally have experienced players on a team. This team is full of experience and talent. Now we get to see what they can do against another team with experience and talent. Will be happily surprised if they win, but I really just want to see a lot of effort on both ends of the floor, keep sharing the ball, playing as a team.
Experience matters Old fan. with you on that
Just win win win. Play to the upmost of your basketball skill. Do your utmost. Compete to the highest level. If you do these things, win or lose (grrrrr) just remember, you are loved and appreciated by the BBN. GO CATS!
I agree if we play our game we should win especially if the shots are falling.
Wanting to play in a big game on a big stage matters. You have to be confident in your ability to compete. This game will measure where this team stands in that regard. Amari says he is confident of a win tonight…what do the others say? Everybody in BBN wants to pound on Duke. A win would make people take us seriously, but a competitive loss would not hurt the season. In fact, it might expose areas that need more work. This game and the next 4 will definitely have us better prepared for Clemson and Gonzaga. I have seen the Zags play and they are the real deal. We could be the real deal by then too, but what matters is being the real deal by SEC play. I am excited about Kentucky basketball again and was not surprised at Baylor beating Arkansas…a team that is well on it’s way to double digit losses this season. The Zags annihilated Baylor, so we have our work cut out in our non conference schedule. Go CATS!